When Worlds Collide
by creativewritinginc
Summary: W.I.T.C.H. has gone through a mysterious looking portal right into Aang's world! Now they have to fight off Prince Zuko and find a way back to Earth.ZukoxKatara AangxHay Lin SokkaxCornelia he wishes!
1. The Mysterious Portal

It was another normal day for the Avatar and company; Aang, Sokka, and Katara were on Appa, fleeing from an enraged Prince Zuko. They had just lost him when five people fell from the sky, landing perfectly on the huge, furry bison.

"Where _are_ we?" the one with the short, red hair asked the tattooed boy guiding Appa.

"Hi! I'm the Avatar. Who are all of you?"

"We're the Guardians of the Veil," she replied. "I'm Will. That's Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin."

"This doesn't look like Meridian," Hay Lin told the group.

"Wow, brilliant deduction, Sherlock!" Irma joked. Aang looked around, confused.

"Who's Sherlock?"

"Where are we, exactly?" Will asked again, cutting off Irma's explanation.

"Well, right now we are in Earth Nation waters," Katara said, speaking up. "Which nation are you from?" This time, Taranee spoke up.

"Um, America. But it seems that you wouldn't know where that is. You wouldn't happen to know where Phobos is? Or Elyon?" Katara shook her head.

"Are they with Prince Zuko?"

"Who?"

"The banished fire nation prince who's been following us," Aang explained.

"And he's coming up right now! Watch it, I think he's going to fire on us!" Sokka yelled. Eyes widening, Will took out the heart of Candracar and said, "Guardians Unite!" Aang watched amazed as they transformed into the guardians. Sokka fainted, but Katara never even noticed. Her eyes were fixed on Zuko's ship.

"He's firing!" she yelled. "Turn, Appa!" But she didn't need to scream; Hay Lin blew the burning rock away as easily as if it was a feather. Aang looked at her with newfound respect. He had not seen another Airbender for a long time, especially such a talented female. Zuko fired again and Irma put it out with a little water. It fell harmlessly back to the ocean beneath them. Once more, Zuko fired, his unbelieving eyes taking in the spectacle above him. Cornelia directed it straight back at him, and everyone scurried under the deck. It hit the ship and burned out, leaving only a scorch mark and a dent. Zuko came back out on the deck and scowled. Who were these girls? How were they so powerful?

Everyone onboard Appa was amazed. Not only could they fly, but these girls had power over all four elements. Everyone started talking at once.

"How did you make the water shoot from your hands?" Katara asked Irma.

"Where did you learn how to blow it away like that?" Aang asked, fawning over Hay Lin.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Sokka asked Cornelia.

"Whoa, whoa," Will said, flying closer to Appa. "One question at a time. And," she added, laughing slightly, "Cornelia has the rebel leader, Caleb, already." Sokka looked dejected.

"But…but I'm a warrior!" Katara hit him, and Aang laughed.

"But how _did_ you make the water shoot from your hands, um, Irma?" the waterbender asked, ignoring her brother.

"Well, I don't know," she replied. "Ever since Hay Lin's grandmother told us we were the Guardians of the Veil, I've just been able to when Will's transformed us." Katara was shocked.

"Wow! That's amazing! Can you teach me some new moves?" she asked eagerly. Irma shrugged.

"Sure." She complied, and made a cloud over the ship below them rain, directly on top of Zuko and his uncle Iroh. Katara and Aang laughed, but Sokka was still feeling too sad at being rejected.

"Would you guardians like to travel with us?" Aang asked, clearly hoping that at least Hay Lin would. They conferred with each other quietly away from Appa, and returned quickly

"We must," Will replied. "We need to see if we can find a way back to Earth, or at least to Meridian. All we know is that we got here through a strange-looking portal. We thought it was a trick of Phobos," she explained sheepily. Aang was overjoyed to hear that Hay Lin would be traveling with them, and Sokka was even glad that he would have some more time to work on Cornelia. Katara just looked sadly back at the ship that was now a tiny dot.

"So, will you be able to fly for a long time, or do you need to rest on Appa?" Aang asked.

"We can take turns resting on…Appa is it?" Taranee suggested. "By the way, what is he?"

"A flying bison," the young Avatar announced proudly. "And this is Momo, my lemur."

"Your…what?" Taranee asked.

"My lemur!" Taranee shook her head. This place was getting weirder by the minute.

"Hay Lin, do you want to rest first?" Aang asked eagerly.

"And Cornelia?" Sokka added hopefully. Katara shook her head. Those two were hopeless. Sokka shouldn't even be going after Cornelia!

_Like I shouldn't be pining over Zuko, _she told herself firmly. "There's plenty of room," she said. "Three more can fit, can't they Appa?" She petted the big furry bison, who grunted at her.

"Well, Blunk smells way worse. I guess I could go first if you want me to," Cornelia said, drifting over Appa and landing besides Katara. Hay Lin sat up front by Aang, and Taranee and Will flew behind Appa, keeping watch for the ship that had attacked them earlier.

Up front, Hay Lin and Aang were having a good time talking about their element.

"When we land, I can show you how to make an air scooter!" Aang told her. "They're a lot of fun. My friends back at the Air Temple even made a game out of it!"

"Wow! That sounds cool," Hay Lin told him. The little boy was cute, and he obviously had a tiny crush on her.

"I'm the last Airbender left, though," he said, slightly more somber. "I haven't seen another Airbender in over one hundred years."

"Wait. You're one hundred years old?"

"I was frozen in an iceberg. Katara and her brother Sokka rescued me. It's sort of a long story."

"That must have been freezing!" Hay Lin giggled.

"Yeah," he said. "It was. So how come you can fly?"

"I'm a guardian of the veil! We all have wings. Can you?"

"Well, with the help of my staff. Here, take the reins!" Grabbing his staff, he jumped off Appa, and the rest of the guardians gasped. Cornelia flew over, but saw him gliding on his staff.

"Oh. I didn't know the little boy could fly, too," she said, to no one in particular.

"He's an Airbender. He can fly, make air scooters, cause tons of trouble, and the like," Sokka explained. Katara hit him.

"He's nice, don't listen to Sokka. Aang's the last Airbender and the Avatar, the only person in the world who can control all four elements. It's kind of a huge responsibility for a twelve-year-old. I'm the last Waterbender in the southern Water Tribe." To illustrate her point, she pointed at the cloud beneath them and moved her hands, positioning the moisture above Sokka's head. Unclenching her fists, she drenched Sokka. Aang, looking back and seeing how wet Sokka was, laughed.

"Good one, Katara!" She smiled.

"We're traveling to the North Pole so that Aang and I can master Waterbending. He has to stop the war that the Fire nation started."

"That seems like a lot of responsibility on such a young kid. At least there are five of us guardians. One for each element, and then Will for energy and to transform us with the crystal. So why is that Zuko guy following you?" Irma asked.

"He was banished from the Fire nation, and he needs to capture Aang to restore his honor." Without warning, that night by the river came back to her.

_She was practicing the water whip, pretty unsuccessfully, when she heard Zuko's ship land on the shore. Rushing back to camp, she ran into a pirate, and finally managed the move from the scroll. She literally ran from the frying pan into the fire, landing in Zuko's arms._

"_I'll save you from the pirates," he said. She was tied to the tree, but she never told him anything about Aang. Not even when Zuko showed Katara her mother's necklace._

"_You don't understand," he had said. "I need the Avatar to restore something I've lost…my honor. In return, I can return something you've lost…"_

"Katara? Katara!" her brother yelled, frantically waving his hand in front of her face.

"I'm fine," she said, waving his hand away. "Anyway, he was banished and he needs to give his father the Avatar to be restored as rightful heir to the throne." Cornelia had not missed her face when Katara spoke Zuko's name, and would have asked her about it when Will and Taranee sat down on Appa.

"We're sorry, but our wings were tired," Taranee explained. Aang hopefully looked at Cornelia and Irma, and they got the message. They flew off the bison, keeping an eye out for Zuko.

Aang and Hay Lin talked for hours, stopping only when it was her turn to fly behind the giant bison. Sokka still had no luck with Cornelia. He decided that he would just have to impress her next time Zuko attacked. When Irma was resting, she started showing Katara some of the more basic moves that she could do, although Katara had to draw the water from the clouds around them.

Very soon, too soon for Aang, it started getting dark and he looked around for islands that Appa could rest on.

"Oh no," he said. "I can't see anymore! How are we supposed to find a place to rest tonight?" He silently berated himself for being too absorbed with Hay Lin to notice how dark it was getting. Poor Appa would have to fly through the night because of him.

"Don't worry," Taranee said. "I can light up the general area, but it might be dangerous if that prince is in the area anywhere."

"Just go ahead and do it," Aang told her. "You guys wouldn't be able to keep switching places all night long. Someone might get hurt." A huge ball of fire flew from Taranee's hand and lit up the night sky, illuminating a small island not too far away. Sokka hurried away from her, thinking that she was a Firebender.

"Aagh! Firebender! Katara! Tackle her!" he ordered her. Katara rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Sokka! These…guardians aren't from our world! How else would they fall out of the sky? Transform? You are such an idiot sometimes." Sokka blushed. He stayed away from Cornelia, embarrassed that he had accused her friend of being a Firebender, which she obviously wasn't, or else she would have tried to grab Aang right away. He still didn't entirely trust her, but she _had_ helped them find a place to rest. And had helped Zuko pinpoint the location of the Avatar.

**A/N: This is probably going to be a short story, because it's mostly a stress reliever between chapters of Bless the Child, Argetlam, a story of mine under the Eragon section of this site. Hope you like the first chapter, it's mostly just to introduce the plot line. Read and review, people!**


	2. Prisoners

Back on Earth, Caleb was going crazy. He had just escaped from Cedric and Phobos, and had made it through a portal in the nick of time. He needed the Guardians' help, but could not seem to find them anywhere. He went to Yan Lin's restaurant, Will's apartment, and all the other guardian's houses. He even tried Will's new boyfriend's house, although he didn't think any of the other guardians would be there. In desperation, he went back to the restaurant, hoping Yan Lin could help him

"Have you seen any of the girls?" he asked her frantically.

"No, why?" she replied. "Is something wrong in Meridian?"

"Well, not exactly. I just escaped from Phobos and Cedric again. Nothing unusual. Have you seen the girls? I could really use some help fighting off Cedric for once!"

"I haven't seen them. You know, they might be at school for once, Caleb." He hit his head.

"Of course. Am I allowed to pick them up?" Yan Lin shrugged. Caleb sighed, and grabbed his skateboard, heading for their school. When he arrived, he learned that not one of them had shown up for class that morning. When he had gone all the way back to the restaurant, he met up with Blunk in the Dumpster.

"Blunk," he sighed, reluctant to ask the stupid pasling (sp?) for help, "Do you smell any portals nearby? I can't find the girls."

"Oooh, Blunk find girls!" he said eagerly.

In Aang's world, Appa had just landed and the tired guardians fell to the ground, exhausted by the flight. The only one who seemed alright was Hay Lin, because Aang made sure she got off the flying bison the least. She was always chipper anyway. Taranee's light had finally faded, but Appa knew where land was, and touched the ground lightly. As soon as everyone was off, Aang showed Hay Lin the air scooter, and they ran around laughing, trying to catch each other. She had gotten it much more quickly than the boys at the Southern Air Temple. Sokka sighed, and started setting up their camp. He was the only one without any "special powers" and that meant he had to work while the others played. Katara, of course, was sitting on the beach with Irma, learning some new waterbending moves.

When Sokka was done setting up camp, he and Katara turned in, but Aang swirled some leaves around and made beds for the Guardians, making sure that Hay Lin's was closest to his.

"Good night!" he said, in his cheerful way. The girls were too tired to say anything, and just rolled over on their beds of leaves, trying not to sleep on their wings. They all slept peacefully, unaware of Prince Zuko and his ship drawing ever closer.

"Aaaah! You stupid pasling!" Caleb yelled as he fell from the sky. "Where are we?"

"Blunk not know!" the dirty little creature replied. "I smell portal, think it to Meridian!" Caleb sighed. They were in big trouble, especially if they fell any faster and hit that ship traveling beneath them. So far, however, this didn't look like Meridian at all. It was much brighter and more peaceful, for one thing. He silently braced himself for impact, reaching out to the pasling in his last minutes of life. The ship was drawing closer, but the pair missed it by inches, landing hard in the water. Zuko looked over the railing, trying to decide if the two were important enough to save.

"Nephew! Aren't you going to try to save them?" his uncle Iroh asked him. He shrugged.

"Well, I guess I could interrogate him and that animal about the other Airbender and her friends," he sighed. "Give me a rope." He shrugged off his shirt, tying the rope around his waist and dove perfectly into the clear blue water. He swam quickly over to them grabbing them tightly. He gave the sign back to his ship, and they hauled them all in.

"Take them to a cell," Zuko said flatly. "And can't this ship go any faster?"

On the island, everyone except Sokka had finally awoken to a bright blue day, perfect for flying, whether it was on a huge bison or otherwise. Katara was left to try to wake her brother up while everyone else searched the island for food for breakfast.

"Hey Sokka! Wake up! Everyone else is gathering food!" Hearing the word food, Sokka jumped up at once.

"Well, where's my breakfast?" he asked, looking around their campsite.

"You have to go help them gather it." He sighed, and got up slowly, stretching.

"Well, maybe I'll find Cornelia!" Katara shook her head.

"Just go find food! And no nuts!" He left, and Katara was left by herself, cleaning up the campsite. She had just finished spreading out the leaves when she noticed a tiny ship on the horizon.

_Zuko's ship,_ she thought, scared. _I need to find Aang! _She jumped onto Appa, flying over the forest in hopes of finding her friend quickly. She found him not too far away playing the air scooter game with Hay Lin instead of gathering food. She landed close to them, disrupting their game.

"Aang! We have to find the others! Prince Zuko is coming!" she said frantically. Aang immediately jumped off his air scooter, followed by an alarmed Hay Lin. She flew off to find the other guardians, and the Avatar leapt onto Appa's back, guiding the huge bison in the other direction.

They quickly found Sokka, who was currently stuffing his face with a coconut.

"Sokka! You were supposed to gather food for all of us!" Katara reprimanded him. He shrugged.

"What can I say?" he said through a mouthful of coconut. "I was hungry!" Katara shook her head, infuriated.

"Well, that's not important right now anyway. Zuko is back on the trail, and we need to leave, now!" Her brother looked up, suddenly serious. He gathered the remains of his coconut and put it in his bag for later, taking a few more for everyone else. They hurried back onto Appa, searching the entire island for the rest of the Guardians. They found Irma and Taranee, and sincerely hoped that Cornelia, Will, and Hay Lin had met up.

Luckily, they had, and Irma spotted the three of them low to the ground. Appa swooped in, and everyone flew on. The huge, furry bison put on speed, and soon they island was a tiny dot behind them, just like Prince Zuko's ship. Katara looked sadly behind her, but didn't say a word. Sokka scooted closer to Cornelia, and she flew off to take her turn behind Appa. Taranee flew off with her, not wanting her to be alone. Sokka just slumped back, muttering something about her being the friend of a Firebender and him not liking her anyway. Irma splashed him and he muttered that he didn't like their "magic" anyway.

Back on Zuko's ship, Caleb and Blunk were groggily awaking in a damp, dark cell.

"Caleb save Blunk!" the smelly little pasling said happily. "Caleb like Blunk!" Caleb nodded. Sometimes it was best to just let the little animal think what he wanted.

"But where are we?" he asked Blunk. The guard, noticing that they were awake, ran and got the banished Fire nation prince. The guard came back quickly, bringing back the prince.

"Who are you? Where are we?" Caleb asked him.

"I am the one asking the questions," Zuko replied. "Who are you? And who were those flying girls with the Avatar?"

"I don't even know who the Avatar is! And what happened to the Guardians?"

"Who are the Guardians?" Zuko asked angrily.

"The Guardians of the Veil, the protectors of Earth!"

"They are all from the Earth nation?"

"No, America!"

"Where is this 'America?"

"On the west continent. Where am I?"

"You are on my ship. I am Prince Zuko, from the Fire nation. Where is America?"

"I just told you! Where is this Fire nation?"

"Who are the Guardians?" Zuko sighed. "We are back where we started. You can rot in this cell until you're ready to actually tell me useful information." He stalked off, motioning the guard back to his chair.

"Prince Zuko! How did the interrogating of the prisoners go?" his Uncle Iroh asked.

"Not well," he replied. "They made up this nation called 'America', and would not tell me who the girls flying with the Avatar are. All he said was they were the Guardians of the Veil, the protectors of the Earth. And he said they're not Earthbenders, either. He confuses me, Uncle." Iroh sighed.

"Well, at least we are catching up with the Avatar. Our men have seen his huge bison."

"Good. Make this stupid boat go faster!"

"Nephew, I will try to talk to the prisoners, do not worry."

"They are my prisoners, Uncle! And besides we are catching up to the Avatar, there is no need to question them anymore." He gave his uncle a look that clearly meant not to go near them, but his uncle pretended not to see it. When Zuko had calmed down and went to his room to meditate, Iroh slipped by him and went to the cells. He motioned the guard away, and bowed to the prisoners in the cell.

"Good afternoon. I am Prince Zuko's uncle Iroh. And who, may I ask, are you two?"

"I'm Caleb and this monster is Blunk. Where are we?"

"Excuse me; I understand this is the same conversation you had with my nephew a few minutes ago. Let me explain and then you must answer some of my questions. You are being held captive on a Fire nation ship, my nephew Prince Zuko's to be exact. You fell out of the air like those five other girls, yet you could not fly, and you did not land with the Avatar like they did. My nephew saved you."

"Who is this Avatar? Where is Prince Phobos and Elyon?"

"I do not know of whom you speak, but the Avatar? How could you not know who he or she may be? The Avatar is the only person in the world who can bend all four elements; water, fire, earth, and air. When the Avatar dies, he is reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle. Where did you say you were from?" Caleb quickly realized that whoever the Avatar was, he was well-known, and he had just made a big mistake by admitting he did not know who he was.

"The…Air nation?" he said tentatively, hoping that would cover for his falling out of the sky.

"But you from Mer-" Blunk started, cutting off when Caleb kicked him in the shin.

"Ah, I knew it," Iroh muttered, mostly to himself. Caleb was relieved for a second, thinking that he had believed him, but Iroh spoke again, addressing them both.

"You are not from this world. There are no more Airbenders left besides the Avatar. Now tell me truthfully where you did come from, or I shall inform my nephew, who, I might say, has a more painful interrogations process."

"No! Tell me where the Guardians are! I never ratted out the rebels to Phobos and I will not do it for a man half his size and power." Iroh sighed, knowing that he would have had to inform his nephew anyway, called the guard back and walked to Zuko's room. He knocked lightly and went in when he heard a slight grunt of acknowledgement.

"Zuko, there is something you need to know about your prisoners," he started.

"Uncle! I told you not to go near them!" The candles he was meditating with flared, and Iroh stepped back carefully.

"They are not from this world, Zuko! They did not know who the Avatar was and claimed that they were from the Air nation!"

"Uncle, I do not have time to listen your crazy stories! And I thought it was bad when you sputtered proverbs every few minutes," he muttered to himself. "Stay away from my prisoners!"

His prisoners, who at that very moment, were trying to find a way to escape.

"Higher! Blunk no reach window!"

"I-can't get-you any higher," Caleb grunted as he collapsed onto the floor. "This cell is airtight. I don't think there _is_ an escape from here, Blunk." The little pasling curled up in a corner to sleep, and Caleb sighed. They were going to be there for awhile, and they already had been. No one had even brought food, although Caleb had to endure watching their guard eat. He noticed, however, that the irritable Prince had not come back down, and thought he was right about the old man's bluff. He hoped the Guardians would find out where he was. Sometimes they were his only means of escape. He started thinking about Cornelia, and smiling, drifted off into sleep.

Caleb was awoken by a loud rapping on their cell door. The banished prince had finally come back, having realized that his uncle was right.

"Wake up!" he yelled loudly.

"What do you want?" Caleb snapped back. Prince Zuko motioned to the guard next to the door, and he unlocked it. The pair entered, holding ropes to tie Caleb with, who was then brought up to Zuko's room for an interrogation.

"So tell me, who are these Guardians? I want answers, and if you give them to me quickly I will not hurt you or that filthy little animal back in your cell."  
"I will not help you, whoever you claim to be!" Zuko's hands flared, and Caleb shrunk back.

"I just want to know what they are, and I will not burn you! Tell me!"

"No!" Zuko held his flaming hand up to Caleb's face, scorching it.

"Tell me! You will not have to endure the pain!" Caleb wouldn't cave, even though his face was scorched, and Zuko had to bring in the little pasling.

"Now tell me what you know about them or this animal gets hurt!"

"Hey Blunk no animal! Blunk a pasling!"

"Alright, alright! The Guardians protect Earth, our world, against the ruler, Prince Phobos, of Meridian, another world. There are five, Will to turn them into the guardians, Irma who has control over water, Taranee who can control fire, C-Cornelia who controls earth, and Hay Lin who has power over air." Zuko didn't miss the stuttering of Cornelia's name like Caleb had hoped he would; the prince stored it away to use against him if he were ever to battle the Earthbender.

"So they are benders, then. They will be easy to take care of. Take the prisoners back to their cell!"

Appa was getting tired, and so were the Guardians, so Aang decided to land them on an island not too far away, hoping that the Fire nation prince wouldn't know they had landed.

"OK, we're just going to rest here until Appa can fly again," he said in the most important Avatar voice he could muster, only managing to be serious for a few seconds. He started laughing, and Hay Lin did too, both jumping onto an air scooter and chasing each other around. Irma thought it was cute, and tried making one out of water, but all it did was make her very wet.

"Ugh! Well, that's one thing I'm never trying again!" she said lightheartedly. Taranee knew only too well not to try it with fire, and Cornelia missed Caleb too much to have fun now. But she tried it to get away from Sokka, who was kind of creeping her out now.

"Hey this is fun!" she cried, circling Hay Lin and Aang.

"You guys should race your scooters!" Irma joked. "Air versus Earth! See who wins!"

"Yeah!" Aang said excitedly. "I haven't been able to play with other scooters for over 100 years!" Hay Lin and him started begging Cornelia, and she caved in easily.

"Alright, alright!" Cornelia moved the earth in front of them away, leaving a single straight line, then flew forward about 100 yards and did the same. Irma acted as referee since it was her idea, and had to give the signal to go.

"On your marks, get ready, get set, go!" she yelled, and the three took off, trying desperately to make their scooter go the fastest. The three were neck and neck until Cornelia managed to pull ahead, right at the finish line, winning the race. Even Hay Lin and Aang were happy because it had been such a relief to do something fun. They stayed all day, racing and playing tag, letting Appa catch up on his sleep and finding some food for the whining Sokka, never noticing the black Fire nation ship growing steadily closer. Zuko had seen them land, and he wasn't going to let them get away again.

His crew landed the ship near the campsite, wanting not to be seen, but not wanting to be too far away either in case they were defeated. Luckily for Zuko, none of them had thought of setting up a guard, and he snuck into their camp undetected. He grabbed the Avatar first, putting a cloth around his mouth, and on an impulse grabbed Katara too. He told himself she was leverage to make the Avatar do what he wanted, but he wasn't so sure himself. Unfortunately for him, she woke up and sounded the alarm.

**

* * *

****A/N: Sorry about the cliffie! I'll try and update as soon as I can, but since I'm going on vacation in two days, it may be difficult. And I know Caleb being scared is a little OOC, but he loves Cornelia, and doesn't want this weird guy hurting her.**


	3. Ambushed

**A/N: Well, I'm back from Disney World and it was fun! I start school on Sep. 6, so updates will get rarer, but they'll keep coming. BTW, did anyone see the season finale to WITCH? It was awesome!**

**Atlantia45: Sorry, but I've only seen the show, and they can all fly in there. But your info is interesting, so if you other readers would like to see it:**

**Disney created witch to make a change in the world. They are not sure if any one would like the characters so they tested on a country called the Phillip ines. My family, being part philipino went there at times. (5 years apart to be exact.) My cousins were introduced to wich in comic book form. They might be able to be seen in the disney adventures in the back before they started the series. When me my family went to the Phlipines we were un aware of all this untill our cousins intouduced us to witch. It was made by a lady by the name of Mimi. You know Yan Lin has wite hair and she dies. The heart of Kandrakar is from Kandrakar. I dont know why the haven't mentioned them.**

"Aang! Sokka! Help!" Katara cried as she was roughly handed off to two men who dragged her out of camp. Unfortunately, the group was camped too far inland for Katara to defend herself. The camp awoke quickly, the Guardians and Sokka coming to her rescue. Zuko shook his head.

"You will let me take the girl and the Avatar," he warned. "Or else your dear Caleb and that animal he travels with will have an unfortunate accident." Cornelia gasped.

"Where is he? What have you done with him?"

"Oh, so you must be the Earthbender. Do not worry, he is only suffering from minor burn injuries…now." The Guardians reluctantly gave up. They had to, knowing how important Caleb was to Cornelia, and Meridian. Zuko had the upper hand. Sokka still couldn't believe that they had taken his little sister and Aang and had to be held back by Irma and Hay Lin so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"What are you planning to do with my sister, you sick bastard?" Sokka asked the retreating Zuko. The prince just turned slightly and smiled, making Sokka even madder.

"Bring my sister back! Do you hear me? Bring Katara back!" This time he got no answer except the sound of a ship sailing off. Sokka fell against the guardians holding him, and Cornelia flew off into the forest, crying. Taranee flew after her, but Will stayed where she was. She had already started hatching a plan.

Katara, back on the prince's ship, was being dragged to a room decorated almost entirely in red and gold, and she guessed that it was Zuko's room. She hadn't seen where Aang had been brought in, or if he even had been, and feared the worst for the poor boy. The Water tribe girl did not know if she was being given special treatment or was just there to be questioned. She knew she'd rather be in a cell with Aang if he was here either way. The men who had carried her so unceremoniously from her brother left as soon as she had been tied to a chair, locking the door. She sat there for a long time, she didn't know how long, with no one coming to se her. Katara finally fell into a stressful sleep full of dreams of Aang, Zuko, her brother, and the Guardians. A hand gently caressed her face, and she jerked awake, staring into the amber eyes of Prince Zuko. She was confused, but before she could say anything, he touched her again. She shuddered involuntarily, and he stalked out of the room with a definite click of the lock.

_What was Prince Zuko _doing she asked herself, a little scared. _He…couldn't like me. Right? Well, I really don't know why I'm here. But no! He can't like me! I don't like him. I don't! _

_Yes you do, _a tiny voice said in her mind.

_I don't! I'd betray Aang…and Sokka would never approve!_

_That doesn't change how you feel,_ the little voice continued. She tried hard to convince herself that she didn't like the banished prince, but it was very hard for her to forget those piercing amber eyes.

Down in the cells, Aang was having as hard a time as Katara. He was thrown unceremoniously into his cell with his hands chained to the wall to prevent Airbending. Caleb and Blunk's cell was right across from his, providing the pair from Meridian with a front row seat to his arrival. When Zuko was done making sure his other prisoner was comfortable, he came down to the cells to talk to Aang.

"Comfortable, Avatar? I want to talk to you before you try to escape. We have that Water Tribe girl you travel with, so don't even think about trying to get off this ship. If you don't do exactly what I say, that poor girl will have…accidents." Zuko carefully put a lot of effort into sounding like he didn't care what happened to Katara, and Aang was too upset to notice anything.

"Don't hurt her! It's me you want! I'll do anything you tell me to!" Zuko nodded, satisfied, and left. Aang couldn't believe he would sink so low. If he hurt Katara, it would be Aang's fault, and he'd never forgive himself. In the cell across from him, Caleb spoke up.

"So you are the Avatar?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"You're even younger than the Guardians!" Aang's head perked up.

"You know them? You're Caleb, aren't you?" The rebel leader walked over to his door and was about to speak when their guard did.

"No talking! Keep it down!"

Back in his room, Zuko was angrily ignoring Katara, enraged with himself for showing affection. He told the guards to move her next door, and undressed for bed. He tried to sleep, but it was hard, knowing that Katara was right next door. He couldn't close his eyes without seeing a picture of her. Finally, he gave up, and putting on his clothes, he went up to the deck for some fresh air. He couldn't go into her room. That was certain. So he stayed out there for the rest of the night, enjoying the breeze, and the fact that he was finally going home.

**A/N: A couple things I want to go over. First of all, sorry about the shortness of the chapter! But I'm tired, we just got back at midnight, and making it go on any longer would ruin the chapter. Second, just in case I caused any confusion, Katara cried for Aang too because she was asleep, she didn't see him being carried off. Third, I have absolutely no idea what Will's plan will be. Any hints from you reviewers would be greatly appreciated. Fourth, sorry about forgetting about the Guardians. This was kind of a Zutara chapter. Sorry about that, but I needed this chapter to be that way.**


	4. A Dangerous Rescue

**A/N: I don't know about you, but I am getting seriously impatient for September 23 when the new Avatar comes out! I need my weekly Avatar fix…and I'm just not getting it with reruns. Especially since Catscratch (curse those creators!) took over one of Avatar's time slots.**

**The Violent Tomboy: Thank you SO much! I realized that I had thought of it earlier and forgotten. I'm like that, so thank you so much for reminding me!**

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Zuko had thought long and hard about what he had done to Katara. Even now, he berated himself for being so stupid. She shuddered at his touch; he revolted her. Either that or he scared her. And he could thank his father for all of this. Before he could think of what to do, he heard her scream. He ran quickly to her cabin, hitting the door with all his force so he would not have to undo the locks. What he saw shocked him.

Aang and Caleb heard the girl scream, but Caleb didn't know who she was.

"Oh no! Katara! What did they do to her?" Aang screamed at his guard. "I've been quiet! Don't hurt her!" The guard shrugged.

"She wasn't supposed to be hurt," he said. "You weren't trying to escape or anything." His words didn't calm Aang, however. They made him angrier. Whether or not she was supposed to be hurt didn't matter. He had heard the scream. There was no mistaking the pain in it. Caleb quickly walked to his cell door.

"What's wrong? Who is that girl?"

"She's my friend. Her and her brother travel with me, and Zuko captured her as well. He promised he wouldn't hurt her…" Aang hung his head dejectedly, and Caleb decided that it wouldn't be a good time to press for more information. He sat back down in a corner, watching Blunk sleep and trying to get some himself.

Once the rest of the Guardians and Sokka had heard Will's plan, they jumped on Appa, conserving their energy for the fight that was sure to come. They had to follow Prince Zuko's ship very discreetly and they flew high above the clouds for cover. Appa only went below them for seconds, making sure they were still following the Fire Nation ship. They had to dock for supplies sooner or later, and Sokka would follow him to the Fire Nation if he had to. Whatever he had to do to protect his sister, he would. They dipped below the clouds for a second, and saw someone being tossed overboard.

"Who is it? Is it Katara? It's got to be Katara! Go save her! Come on, Appa!" Irma stopped him from jumping off the bison just in time.

"Sokka! If they see us, it will ruin our plan! Katara is a Waterbender, she'll survive." Just barely, they restrained Sokka and flew above the clouds again. They waited until Zuko's ship was farther away to fly down. Sokka eagerly dove in, and the Guardians waited with bated breath. He came back up, disgusted, holding the corpse of a soldier. Will looked delighted.

"This is perfect! We don't have to knock out any guards when they land!" She quickly stripped him to his waist, taking his clothes and putting them away safely. Nobody knew what to do with the body, so they threw it back in the ocean. They hurried to catch up with Zuko, and then flew back above the clouds.

Zuko put a hand on Katara's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. The guard…has been dealt with. We need to put you somewhere safer. I have to move you back to my room." Katara looked up at him, tears brimming gratefully in her eyes. He gave her a pair of his old clothes; hers were ruined by that monster. Zuko hated to think what would have happened if he hadn't been trained to respond so quickly. He left the room to give her some privacy, locking the door firmly. She changed quickly, and not knowing what else to do, knocked on the door to let him know she was ready. He came back in and held her arms, firmly leading her towards his cabin. He pushed her down onto the bed, and for a second she wondered what he was going to do, but he just took out some chains and chained her to the bedpost. Briefly, she thought they would have to sleep on the same bed, but he put blankets on a cot in the corner she hadn't noticed before. He left as soon as she was safely secured, locking the door with his own key, one only he had.

Down in the cells, Aang wouldn't keep quiet until he had seen prince Zuko, and made sure Katara hadn't been hurt. He yelled and screamed at every guard, until they finally relented. When the guard changed, the last one went and got Prince Zuko. The prince took some convincing, but finally agreed to see the Avatar.

"What do you want, _Avatar_?" he spit out.

"What happened to Katara? What did you do to her?" Zuko was shocked. He didn't know she could even be heard down here.

"She was not hurt," he said abruptly, and left.

"What happened? Why did she scream?" Aang yelled at Zuko's back. He didn't get an answer, and became so angry that his tattoos started glowing, and a huge ball of air formed around him, knocking off his shackles and his door. The whole ship started rocking from the force, and Zuko went back quickly.

"Avatar! Avatar! Stop! Do you want the waterbender to be hurt?" Those were the only words he heard, and he calmed down, allowing them to chain his hands to the wall and fix the door.

"At least tell me what happened to Katara! I want to speak to her!" Aang yelled.

"You cannot make commands, Avatar! You are my prisoner!" Aang's hands started glowing again, and Zuko quickly consented. He went into his room and unchained Katara from the bed. She thought she was going to be allowed to roam around the ship, until Zuko held her arms and steered her down into the cells. He motioned the guard away, but stayed to make sure Katara didn't try to help Aang escape.

"Aang!" she cried, breaking free from Zuko's grip. She reached through the bars and gave him the best hug she could, considering the circumstances.

"Katara! You're wearing Fire Nation clothes! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Aang, it's nothing," she whispered. "I'm fine."

"Katara, something's wrong. You can tell me."

"Aang, you heard me scream, right?" she finally asked. He nodded, and she continued, "A guard tried to…tried to…" She started to shake, and Aang quieted her.

"It's alright, Katara. It's alright." Even as a twelve-year old boy, he understood what happened to her.

"As long as it wasn't Zuko who ordered this…or did this to you…" She shook her head. Zuko had finally had enough, and pulled Katara back from the door. He marched her back to his room, chaining her back to the bed.

He had forgotten to call the guard back, and Aang and Caleb took the opportunity to talk.

"Are you alright?" Caleb asked worriedly. Aang nodded.

"I just can't believe someone would try that," he said.

"At least Phobos would have had the honor to not do it."

"I hope she'll be safe with Zuko."

"She will, as long as the Guardians get us out of here soon."

"Do you think they will?"

"They've gotten me out of tighter corners," Caleb told him. The guard, finally realizing that Zuko would not take this long, had come back before he was punished by the prince.

As soon as Prince Zuko had chained Katara back to the bed, he left the room. Since he had taken her prisoner, he had only spoken to her that one time after that guard…he just hated to think about it. He had gotten so angry…angrier than he should have. His Uncle was not pleased when he heard the story, though, and said that he would have just locked up the soldier with the Avatar and Caleb. He was now short a soldier, though that wouldn't really matter. He stayed away from his room all day, managing to find one thing or another to do, even resorting to playing Pai Xo with his uncle and having tea. He trained with his soldiers, putting all his energy into creating the fire. No one could keep up against his rage except Iroh, who managed to merely flick away every attack the prince made.

"Remember Prince Zuko, that you must control your temper while Firebending. Do not put emotion into it," his uncle explained. Zuko ignored him, and angrily threw fireball after fireball at him. Iroh easily sidestepped them all.

"I think that is enough for today," he said. "You must learn to control your temper, Prince Zuko!" The banished prince angrily went to the kitchen and ate his supper. He was so tired that he went into his room early, and stripped to his waist for bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and heard a slight yelp. He had completely forgotten Katara was on it! The prince stood up quickly, and grabbed his armor. He blushed profusely and put on his shirt. Amazingly, she didn't look frightened that he was going to be the same as that guard; she looked…impressed. Zuko's stomach held no trace of fat. He trained every day, and it showed. Hating himself, he acted on an impulse and leaned in to kiss her. Katara was shocked, and kissed him back. She hadn't realized how much she had wanted to do this back by the river with the pirates. Zuko's eyes flew open when he felt her kissing him back, and pulled back. Katara thought for a second that she had been a bad kisser, but he just took her into his arms, and pulled her in for another kiss. She enjoyed every minute of it, but there was always the thought that Aang was locked up down in the cells in the back of her mind.

"Katara…" he whispered. Before he could finish, there was a knock on the door, and he hastily dropped her back onto the bed. He opened it to see his uncle, holding a plate of food.

"I'm ashamed of you, Prince Zuko. I understand none of your prisoners have been fed."

"None of them can exactly feed themselves," he replied, pointing at Katara's chains.

"Then I shall have to feed her. There are two more trays, take them to the cells and feed the Avatar and the friends of the Guardians." Zuko started to argue, but his uncle put up a hand and pointed to the trays. Iroh shut the door, and then unlocked Katara's arms.

"I am sorry for my nephew," he said. "I am sure that if he had decided to feed you, he would not even have unchained you. You may take your time, I know he will not unchain the Avatar, and will have to spoon-feed him." Katara almost laughed at the thought of this, but the mention of Aang made her sad. She ate quickly anyway, and pushed the bowl back to Iroh. She held her arms out, and once more was chained to the bed. The prince's uncle left, and a few minutes later Zuko reentered his room.

"I am sorry for not feeding you, Katara," he apologized.

"Yes, but are you also so sorry for not feeding Aang, Caleb, and Blunk?" she shot back.

"Yes," he sighed. "Or at least my uncle will make sure I feel guilty." Katara lightened up a little, and Zuko sat besides her. He pulled her in for a kiss, leaning as far as he could because she was restrained by her chains. It felt so good, but both knew it was wrong. Katara pulled her head back, and Zuko looked up angrily.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't do this, not while Aang's downstairs locked up uncomfortably."

"Yes you can," he replied, almost commanding her. He pulled her back in, and she couldn't resist since he was holding her head. Resignedly, she kissed him back, savoring the moment since she could do nothing about it. He finally let her go, gasping for breath.

"I will be back," he told her and left.

He went above deck, and saw his uncle standing by the railing, conferring with the ship's chef.

"Prince Zuko! Just the person we were looking for!" his uncle said cheerily. "It seems we're running low on supplies! There is a port nearby where we can restock, but we need your permission to change course."

"Fine, Uncle. How far?"

"We should be there by morning." Zuko went to tell the steersman, and then went back to his room for the night. He greeted Katara, and stripped to his waist for bed. He lay down on his bed, waiting for the protests that were sure to come. There weren't any. He turned and kissed her, and her eyes flew open when she realized Zuko's tongue was in her mouth. Katara played with it a bit, and finally pulled back. She leaned forward for another one, and Zuko eagerly complied. He put his arms around her waist, moving them down ever so slightly, until Katara started shaking and pulled away.

"No, Zuko. Not again. Not after that guard…I can't."

"You are my prisoner! I can do what I want with you!" He saw how badly Katara was shaking, and decided not to.

"It's alright, I won't, Katara. I won't. Go to sleep." She turned away from him, and he replaced his arms around her waist, scooting up as close as he could and falling asleep himself.

Prince Zuko awoke to a loud knock at his door. He quickly disentangled himself from Katara and threw on a shirt. In case it was his uncle, he ruffled the blankets of the cot, making it look like he had slept there. The Prince opened the door, and it was indeed his uncle.

"Good morning nephew!" Uncle Iroh said cheerfully. "We have arrived at the port city, so you need to start supervising purchases." Zuko nodded and left.

"They're stopping! Taranee, grab the Firebender uniform!" Irma yelled.

"Remember, find Aang, Caleb, Blunk and Katara and get out of there," Sokka reminded her. Taranee nodded and quickly grabbed the uniform then put it on over her Guardian outfit, adding the mask as the final touch. Appa carefully kept out of sight of Prince Zuko's ship, and landed behind a shop selling fresh vegetables. Taranee flew out from behind the store because the guard's uniform was a little too big, and grabbed a box to load onto the ship. She followed the other guards nervously, always afraid that someone would discover that she wasn't one of them. The Fire Guardian overheard two guards talking about guard duty, and paused.

"What about it?" she asked, disguising her voice.

"We're tired of it," they replied. "Not much to do."

"I'll take it; I'm tired of carrying these boxes in." They quickly agreed to let her go, and she was amazed it had been so easy to find her captured friends. Taranee hurried down to the cells to relieve the previous guard. Once he was gone, she locked the door and pulled off her mask.

"Caleb? Aang? Blunk? Katara?" she asked nervously.

"Taranee!" Aang and Caleb yelled at the same time. She motioned them to be quiet. She came over to them, and counted.

"Wait, that can't be right," she said. "Where's Katara?" Aang hung his head.

"Prince Zuko has her upstairs," he explained. "As leverage. I can't try to escape, or he'll hurt her." Taranee was shocked, but managed to keep her face calm. Thinking on her feet, she asked, "Alright, how long am I supposed to be guarding you?"

"We figure you have about two hours," Caleb said.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you guys and take the key to this door with me. If Prince Zuko or anyone else comes down, say that I fell asleep, alright?" They nodded, and at that moment, Blunk woke up.

"Guardian!" the little pasling yelled, quieting down when everyone turned and glared at him. Taranee quickly put her mask back on and left, locking the door behind her. She went to the kitchen and asked for a tray of food for a prisoner.

"That Waterbender has been moved so much I forget where she is," she said, taking a guess and hoping she was right. "Where do I bring this to?"

"Ever since the incident, Prince Zuko has been keeping her in his room," the chef told her. At that moment, Iroh came in looking for a tray of food for Katara, too.

"I already have one," Taranee told him.

"Good, grab another tray and take it down to the prisoners in the cells." Taranee had no choice but to obey his orders, and took the two trays of food downstairs to her friends. She unlocked the door and went in, bracing herself to tell them what happened. She unlocked Aang's door and his shackles and gave him his food, then did the same with Caleb and Blunk.

"So where is she?" Aang asked as soon as he saw her. "Is she alright? Did you see her? Does she know you're here?"

"I can't get in to see her," Taranee explained. "Ever since the incident, whatever that is, she's been kept in Zuko's room. Apparently only he has the key. I tried to deliver food to her, but this old man told me to take it down here instead. What happened that Katara had to be moved to the Prince's room?"

"One of the guards tried to rape her," Caleb explained, noticing that Aang was getting angry again. "Aang, calm down, or they'll hurt Katara!" Lately, these were the only words that would calm the Avatar's wrath.

"What just happened to you?" the Fire guardian asked, noticing his glowing tattoos.

"My Avatar spirit activated," he explained. "But if I use it, Zuko will hurt Katara for sure."

"Not if we surprise them," Taranee said, pulling out Aang's bison whistle.

"My whistle! I knew that would come in handy!" Speaking quietly, they came up with a plan to rescue Katara. Taranee put the shackles back on Aang's hands, making sure they'd fall off when it was time, and put loose ropes around Caleb and Blunk's wrists. She put back on her mask, and unlocked the door, leading them to Zuko's room. She hated this part of the plan the most, but she had to do it, so she whispered into Aang's ear, "They almost raped Katara." Aang's avatar spirit activated almost immediately, and Taranee was thrown back. Zuko's door didn't stand a chance and blew off, almost hitting him. The prince quickly grabbed Katara and put a knife around her throat, but Aang just blew him away. Taranee melted her chains, and broke the window, and they all jumped out into the water. Aang finally calmed down and grabbed his staff, then flew out after them. The Fire Guardian blew the bison whistle, and Appa arrived on the chaotic scene, dodging arrows and fireballs with relevant ease. Aang carried Katara onto Appa, and Caleb and Blunk climbed up his tail.

"Katara!" Sokka yelled, embracing her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Caleb!" Cornelia said joyfully, kissing him.

"Aang!" Hay Lin shouted, hugging him.

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****A/N: Woohoo! My lengthiest chapter yet for this story. Now that I read it over I see it's very fluffy, but I like it. Hopefully, you will too. Now scroll down to that little purple button and press review! You know you want to…**


	5. Romance Abounds

**A/N: Warning! EXTREME FLUFF! Plus a little Zuko OOCness and a surprising twist of fluff at the end! And if I have any male readers, please don't be angry about a sterotype I've added in. It is Sokka, after all, and it progresses the plot a bit, or I'dve edited it out. I promise.**

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"HOW DID THE AVATAR ESCAPE?" Zuko screamed at his uncle, breathing fire.

"It appears that the Firebender that Caleb was with stole the clothes of the guard that tried to-"

"Uncle! I thought we drowned him!"

"Apparently, they recovered him," The Dragon of the West replied, shrugging cheerfully. Zuko screamed with primal rage, steaming up his tiny room. He had been so close to restoring his honor! And he had lost Katara…

"Katara? Are, you know, are you alright?" Aang asked her nervously. Ever since she had been rescued from Zuko, the Waterbender had been staring at the horizon, half-hoping a metallic ship would appear.

"Huh? Me? Yeah, I'm fine, Aang," she replied, touching her fingers to her lips, where Zuko had kissed her only a day ago. Damn if that kiss hadn't felt good! And his body….so well defined. She hated to compare him to Aang, but he was so much more sculpted than the scrawny Airbender. Trying to divert Aang's attention, she pointed at Sokka, who was jealously watching Cornelia and Caleb cuddle together in the back of Appa's basket. He was easily distracted, since it was one of Hay Lin's turns to fly behind the huge, furry, bison.

"I hate to be a downer here, but how are we ever going to get home?" Will piped up from Appa's head.

"Did you try the Heart of Candracar?" Irma asked.

"Oh, that? I forgot I HAD that ratty old thing," Will replied sarcastically.

"Hmmph. I thought I was the funny one around here," Irma retorted.

"Yeah, you are funny looking!" Cornelia joked, earning herself a glare from the Water Guardian.

"Excuse me? I'm good-looking enough to have a stalker!"

"A NERD stalker," Cornelia replied casually.

"What's a nerd?" Aang butted in before they could argue any longer.

"Oh, um, uh-oh! We're out of food!" Will interjected, changing the subject with as much skill as a diplomat. Sokka, momentarily distracted from watching Cornelia and Caleb, rummaged through every single bag, trying his hardest to find a scrap of food. Missing food was an important matter.

"We have to land right now and gather more food!" he ordered.

"But what if that prince finds us?" Will argued. Katara perked up at the mention of Zuko, trying hard not to remember the warmth of his kiss...she tuned back into the conversation just in time to see Caleb dangling a jingling bag of coins.

"Where'd you get those?" Sokka asked at the same time as Katara.

"The prince's room," he replied in a sly tone.

"You stole it from him?" Cornelia asked, her face a mask of shock.

"He kidnapped Aang and Katara, and after what almost happened to Katara, I figure he owes it to us," Caleb replied.

"Wait-what happened to Katara?" Sokka asked, favoring his sister with a brief glance. She pulled him over and whispered it in his ear. It couldn't be avoided now and every time Aang heard it, he got angry.

"What?" her brother yelled. "I'm going to kill Zuko! Turn this bison around!"

"Look, Zuko saved me, can you-" Katara barely had time to start before her brother interrupted.

"Now you're defending Zuko? Why didn't you tell me? I would have jumped right onto his little boat and hacked him to smithereens!"

"Sokka, Zuko saved me, and apparently you used the dead guard's uniform to rescue me, Aang, and Caleb. You may have found a different way, but that way worked. And I'm fine. Really." Sokka grunted, but it seemed as if he couldn't find a reply to that statement.

"Hey! A village! We can find a market there!" Aang pointed at something far below the bison. Sokka was immediately distracted when his mouth started watering for food, and Cornelia flew off of Appa to tell the other Guardians about the landing.

Aang took the bison down slowly, a landing perfected over their years together. He touched down a good walking distance from the village and ordered Appa and Momo to hide.

"Um, do you think you guys can change back?" Aang asked the Guardians.

"Why would we want to do that?"

"You're pretty noticeable."

"Oh, yes, how could we forget about these tiny wings?" Irma joked.

"Well, we have extra cloaks. You should put them on, or else you'd be defenseless," Katara offered.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want you to be tortured again," Cornelia told Caleb lovingly, fingering the place where the scar had been. As soon as introductions had been made, Katara healed his cheek, a pretty nasty burn that Zuko had given him…but he had only been kind and gentle with her. She tried not to think about him too much, it made her head hurt. The warmth and fuzzy feeling she received when they kissed, and then the thought of him torturing Caleb. It made him seem like two different people.

"Did Blunk hear mention of food?" the little green thing still curled up on Appa asked, yawning and stretching.

"Uh, no, Blunk, go back to sleep, we're traveling a little more," Irma replied before anyone else could utter a word. The pasling curled up once more and slept, oblivious to the fact that he'd just been lied to.

"What'd you do that for?" Aang asked.

"Believe me, shopping with Blunk is no picnic. Well, actually, for him, it is. He eats everything and then you have to pay for it!" Irma informed him, chuckling at her own pun, which Sokka found funny too, oddly.

The guardians threw on their cloaks and the entire group walked to the nearby village. Caleb grabbed the bag of silver and gold he'd taken from Zuko's room, but Katara snatched it out of his hands.

"I'll hold the money, Caleb. Last time a boy held it, he bought a bison whistle."

"It saved our lives, Katara!" Aang argued

"Yes, well, we needed it for food," she replied, lying through her teeth. Caleb had stolen it from Zuko's room, and if she held it up to her face, she might still be able to smell his smoky, masculine scent. Inhaling deeply, she didn't notice Sokka until he was right beside her, and she hastily dropped the hand with the bag.

"So, uh, are you alright?" he whispered, looking a little nervous about breaching that particular subject again.

"About what?" Katara asked, confused until she noticed his face. "Oh, Sokka, I'm fine. I had a lot of time to get over it while I was being held captive in Zuko's bedroom." As soon as the words came out of her mouth Katara knew she had made a mistake.

"He kept you in his BEDROOM?" Sokka bellowed, not bothering to try to hide his anger. "And what'd he do with you there?"

"Sokka! You think-but-me with Prince Zuko?" she stammered, blushing furiously.

"So he DID do something?" he asked, getting madder by the second. "I'll kill him!"

"No! He didn't do anything to me, really. I was safer there than in that other room where-"

"I don't need to hear that. He must have done something to you, or you wouldn't be blushing."

"He left me alone…he slept in a cot while I slept on the bed," Katara yet again lied to her brother.

"You can tell me what happened, Katara. I won't get mad at you," he kept repeating gently. But Katara knew that if she really told her brother what had happened, he'd probably go ballistic and disown her, then turn around to murder Zuko for trying to seduce his sister, so the Water Bender kept quiet.

"Really, Sokka, nothing happened," she replied, silently adding _much_. It had only been a few kisses.

"Oh, look, we're at the market," she added, distracting him on purpose.

"Come on, we need to buy lots of food…Aang's a growing boy!" Sokka said with impatience, clearly just hungry himself.

"What do I have to do with anything?" Aang asked, a little confused.

"He's just hungry, Aang, don't believe a word he says," Katara comforted him. They stopped at a stall selling vegetables, and Sokka grabbed at least five of every kind.

"What?" he asked when everyone looked at him. "Zuko's paying. We don't have to be cheap when it's on him. I'm sure he won't even notice the missing money."

"Here, Sokka, go get some more food for everybody," Katara told him, handing him a few coins "I'll go find some more. We'll have to make these coins last awhile." She wandered away by herself, glad to have found solitude away from her brother and his accusations that she had done something with Zuko. Looking around to make sure that none of her group had followed her, she lifted the sweet-smelling bag to her nose again, inhaling the definitive, masculine scent. Sighing, she shopped for food for a half hour or so, trying to put off returning to Appa. Out of nowhere, a set of hands grabbed her and pulled her, struggling, into a nearby alley.

"Shh! Katara! It's me!" Zuko greeted her calmly.

"I'm not telling you where the Avatar is!" she replied, instantly tensing up.

"I didn't expect anything else," he told her, and before she could retort, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. Katara automatically relaxed, softening to his sweet touch. After a few minutes, Zuko broke away, hearing a slight sigh of disappointment from the Waterbender. Smirking, knowing that she was craving his touch as much as he was hers, he leaned in for another. Katara dropped her basket of food, completely forgetting about it in their desire. She gasped in surprise when Zuko's tongue entered her mouth once more, her cheeks turning a pale pink. After what felt like only a few second, they had to break apart when they heard Sokka calling her name. Katara was frightened that Zuko would not let her go; throughout the entire kiss, she'd forgotten that Zuko was much stronger than her with an obsession to capture Aang.

"Why, Zuko?" she asked, curious.

"It wouldn't work. I'd need to have the Avatar. It's a… matter of honor," he explained sadly. Katara was confused, but she didn't want to push her luck.

"I'm coming, Sokka!" Katara yelled, picking up the basket. She stood on her tiptoes, giving one final kiss to Zuko, surprising him by putting her tongue in his mouth. For a few, blissful seconds she forgot that Sokka was waiting for her, forgot about Aang, and she even forgot about the Guardians. All she concentrated on was that one, delicious kiss. Sokka yelled for her again, sounding closer, and she reluctantly broke away.

"Zuko…"

"Go, before your brother finds you with me." Katara ran off clutching her basket full of food, occasionally shooting apologetic, longing looks at the hot Fire Nation prince hidden in the alley. She had no idea how much will it took for him to let her run back to her brother.

She finally found Sokka searching food stalls for her.

"Sokka," she greeted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, not expecting her to come up behind him.

"Don't sneak up on a trained warrior like that!" he yelled, blushing.

"Yeah, trained warrior," she replied sarcastically, already pining for Zuko's touch.

"Let's go find the Guardians," Sokka grumbled, still mad that he had been surprised by Katara. "What took you so long to find the food, anyway?" Katara blushed.

"Uh, I don't know, just wanted to find good quality food," she lied. Sokka noticed nothing, however, being male, and they continued down the street. Katara didn't dare call for Aang, knowing that Zuko was nearby, perhaps even following her.

"Everyone split up?" she asked nervously. "But what if Zuko comes again?"

"I didn't see him following us," Sokka replied, shrugging it off. "We'll be fine." Katara sometimes couldn't believe her older brother was so naïve. Last time they-she-had been captured, no one had seen Zuko's ship, either, and she had already been in…contact with the prince himself.

"Let's see…there were Aang, Hay Lin and me, until I left to find you, Taranee, Irma and Will, and Cornelia and Caleb. No one was alone except for you-" Katara blushed here, she hadn't really been alone at all, "-and I got worried so I left Aang and Hay Lin alone."

"We can find them first," Katara ordered her brother, getting more and more nervous about Zuko finding the peaceful Airbenders first. Sokka just shrugged his shoulders again. Sighing, Katara walked off to see if Aang and Hay Lin had headed back to their makeshift camp outside the tiny village. Aang was always afraid that Zuko would capture Appa and/or Momo someday and constantly checked on them. The Waterbender slowed down, to listen for footsteps just in case Zuko had followed her. If he was, she was leading him right to Aang! And right after her firm denial to tell Zuko where the Avatar was. She couldn't hear any extra sets of footsteps, but just to be cautious, she walked a full circle around the campsite, pretending she was lost. After about half an hour, she stopped to go to the bathroom behind a bush, and no one came stumbling around to see where she had gone, so she proceeded on to camp. Peering through the bushes in case of an ambush-she loved Zuko, but she didn't really trust him to stay away from Aang because of her- she was relieved to see Aang and Hay Lin sitting by the fire. Apparently, they were sorting food because Sokka had gone crazy with Zuko's money. It sounded like they were having a private conversation, and Katara didn't want to interrupt, but she couldn't help overhearing every word they said.

"Didn't Katara say for Sokka to spend this money wisely?" Aang complained good-naturedly.

"Yes, but it's obviously it's wise for him to spend a lot of money on food, since he eats it all the time," Hay Lin joked. They were silent for a few minutes, and Katara was about to intrude when Hay Lin started the conversation up again.

"Do you think Katara's alright?" she asked out of nowhere. "She wandered off by herself this afternoon and no one's seen her since."

"Katara can take care of herself," Aang replied confidently, Katara's blush going unnoticed in the shadows. "Although she's been acting strange ever since our rescue."

"You were very brave fighting against Zuko even though he threatened Katara." Aang, who had been getting angry about Katara's 'near escape', perked up and blushed.

"I was just helping to save a friend," he mumbled. "She helped me save a village from the Spirit of the Forest."

"Well, it was still pretty brave of you," Hay Lin replied. "You're younger than us Guardians and destined to save the world. That's pretty cool." Aang blushed again, and Katara felt uncomfortable hiding. It looked like a private moment and she thought she should leave. Before she could, however, Hay Lin stooped over and kissed Aang on the lips, and he responded hungrily. Katara averted her eyes, giving the couple their privacy, since she now couldn't leave without alerting them to her presence. After all, it was Aang's first real kiss since Katara only had the guts to kiss him on the cheek. She had no qualms about kissing Zuko on the lips and desperately tried not to think of him as Hay Lin and Aang locked lips in the clearing.

* * *

**A/N: What'd I tell you? Very fluff-filled. I felt like I was writing a bad romance novel in some parts, to tell the truth. Man, my hopes and dreams almost died when I saw the newest Avatar. If Zuko had died, so would all of my Zutara dreams. But I loved the new episode anyway! How could you not be happy that the pirates from the Waterbending Scroll came back? They were awesome! Please R&R!**


	6. Some Kind of Fate?

Once they left that last tiny village, Aang and Hay Lin were inseparable. It was impossible to speak to one without the other overhearing, and Katara wanted to tell Aang that Zuko might be shadowing them but didn't want to upset the Guardians. No one saw a ship following them, so everyone assumed they were safe. Katara didn't know how Zuko was following them unnoticed, and felt like she was betraying Aang by only being half-worried and not telling him.

In a few days, though, they were out of supplies again because of Sokka's infinite stomach and had to stop in the next port town they saw. The Waterbender's stomach fluttered at the thought of seeing Zuko again, pushing all thoughts of warning Aang out of her mind. Not surprisingly, Aang and Hay Lin wandered off by themselves, and Katara was almost certain that they wouldn't get any shopping done. So far, no one in their little group but her knew, and since she had stumbled upon them by accident, she felt it wasn't her right to say anything.

Sokka grabbed her arm, reminding her why she was really there.

"Come on!" he whined. "We need food! You can hear my stomach growling." Begrudgingly, Katara went with him, knowing he'd probably get suspicious if she wandered off by herself again. She'd just have to find some way of sneaking off to find Zuko.

The rest of the Guardians, however, were left with no guide that was from this world and had to settle for wandering without money.

"Will?" Taranee asked tentatively. "Do you have any idea about getting home?"

"No," she replied. "We've all been too busy keeping that obsessed prince from capturing Aang."

"He might be obsessed with more than the Avatar," Cornelia interjected, remembering Katara's pitiful face when she was rescued.

"What else do you think he wants?" Taranee asked sarcastically. "Us dead?"

"You're telling me no one else noticed this?" Cornelia asked, shocked, holding onto Caleb's arm. "Katara's been very quiet, almost depressed, since we've rescued her! And what was she doing in the prince's room anyway?"

"She has been," Irma mumbled. "She's been distant since then. She even wandered off by herself in the last village, no one could find her."

"Exactly," Cornelia confirmed.

"Poor Katara," Will sympathized, imagining how hard it must be for Katara to love someone she was supposed to hate, even possibly kill.

"But she's not by herself today, Sokka made her shop with him," Taranee pointed out.

"At least she can't mope about her prince, then," Caleb joked, making all of the Guardians glare. They heard a sound then, very welcome to their ears, seeing as they were completely lost.

"Katara! No!" They ran towards the Sokka's voice, worried that the Fire prince was back for them-or her, but when they reached the market, it was only Sokka begging Katara to buy all the fruit she held in her hand.

"Sokka! We don't have enough money for all of that!" she replied, stealing one back from him and turning it around. "Besides," she added, "It's bruised, look at that spot."

"But it's food," he retorted, handing over money to the vendor and grabbing the peach to eat.

"Sokka!" Katara grumbled, taking away his privilege to hold the money. "I'm going to do the shopping from now on. Go guide the Guardians, they need you way more than your stomach does." The Guardians' faces dropped as they realized Katara was wandering off by herself once more.

"Hey, Katara, I'll come with you and help you carry some food," Will offered.

"No, no, that's fine, I can carry it all myself," Katara assured her, running off.

"Are you sure?" Will yelled after her. Katara, barely turning, nodded her head. She was elated that she had finally managed to elude the rest of the group and was about to see Zuko again in a matter of minutes. A hand dashed out from an alley, and Katara gasped, afraid for a moment that it was the pirates again.

"Don't worry, Katara," someone whispered in her ear. "It's Zuko." But she couldn't reply, his lips had already collided with hers and she was lost. Her tongue broke through his barrier, meshing with his. She pulled away sadly when she needed a breath, and looked into his beautiful champagne eyes.

"We need somewhere more private this time," she whispered. Zuko looked surprised for a second, wondering whether she meant what he though she did before Katara continued.

"I don't want my brother or the Guardians to find us." _Or Aang_, she added silently. Almost as if he sensed her thinking about the Avatar, he growled and took her into his arms, ignoring her request. In a few minutes, the private room slipped completely from her mind.

The Guardians and Sokka were having a less enjoyable time, however. Once the Water tribe boy finished his bruised fruit, and found that he had no money, all he did was grumble about his empty stomach and how unfair Katara was to him.

"Where's Katara, anyway?" he whined, holding his stomach. "She's had plenty of time to buy food, what always takes her so long?"

"She's moping," Irma replied before she could stop herself.

"What?"

"I-I was joking," she lied, noticing the glares of the other Guardians. Right, her brother wouldn't exactly condone a relationship with the Fire Prince. Sokka still looked suspicious, but he didn't say anything more on the subject. In a dark alley, they saw a flash of blue, and Katara ran out.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, blushing.

"Katara? What were you doing in an alley? And why are your clothes all rumpled WERE YOU SELLING YOUR WARES?" Sokka asked, craning his neck to look behind her as the Guardians shot each other knowing glances. "And more importantly, why do you have no food?"

"What the? Sokka, you don't trust me at all, do you? I was…trying to find you so that we could all shop together. It's probably not safe to walk around alone if you're in a group with the Avatar," she lied. "Let's go, it's getting late and we still need supplies." Zuko hid in the shadows, watching them leave and counting heads. Two were missing; Aang was separated and vulnerable. That other Airbender would not be much of a challenge. She had no discipline, just like that elusive Avatar. The prince of the Fire Nation caught up with the two Airbenders in a semi-private knoll, and they most certainly weren't getting any shopping done; they were otherwise engaged. He burst through the cover of the bushes, fists glowing, and the young couple broke apart, fear mirrored in each other's eyes.

"Zuko! How'd you get here?" Aang yelled, worried for Hay Lin. Zuko only snarled and charged in, fire blooming from his hands. Hay Lin, rising on her wings, countered it with a breath and his force intensified, the flames growing larger. Hay Lin and Aang flew up, one after the other, to go warn the others.

Zuko growled again, slapping himself for forgetting that they could fly-and they would, straight to the village to warn their friends. Thanks to Katara, though, that delicious little water tribe peasant, he knew exactly where they were and headed back to the village.

But they weren't there. Apparently, the Avatar and his Airbender friend got the word out faster than he could walk. No matter, he'd just follow them. That flying bison couldn't have gotten too far, and Zuko ran for his ship.

He caught up with them only a mile or two from port, and from his deck, he could see their terrified faces, along with the other-world benders. He may have messed up the last time-okay, last few times, but he would capture the Avatar, and Katara. Without a thought about the plight of their furry beast, he ordered his men to man the catapults.

Appa dodged them with practiced ease, and flew above the cloud line for cover, leaving the group very much relieved.

"That was too close," Aang sighed heavily, scooting closer to Hay Lin.

"How did Zuko sneak up on us like that?" Katara asked, trying to act as confused and scared as possible.

"I don't know," Will answered her, "but we can't let it happen again." They all nodded in consent, and the Guardians got back to the difficult task of finding a way home. Irma took the thankless job of asking the most obvious question.

"Have you tried opening a portal? Even if it opens to Meridian, we could probably still get home." All the Guardians glared at her, answering her question without any words exchanged. From the back, Katara's voiced piped up, almost hesitantly.

"Well…maybe you were brought here for a reason," she mused. "Here to help us escape Zuko the one time he actually caught us."

"What, Katara, a previous Avatar sent the Guardians here to help? Come on, have some common sense!" Sokka scorned.

"Sounds reasonable enough to me," Cornelia piped up. "But we shouldn't leave yet, not until we've properly defeated the prince." The other Guardians nodded, seeing the sense in the Earth Guardian's plan. Irma ducked beneath the clouds to check on the progress of Zuko's ship, and came back grim-faced.

"He's still there. He'd stopped throwing fireballs until I appeared, but now he knows just about where we are," she reported. Almost as if her words had alerted him to their presence, a fireball burst through a cloud, only inches away from Appa. Aang, suddenly decided, dropped off of the furry bison, and Hay Lin, eager to help the one she loved, followed him.

After a few minutes with neither of them resurfacing, Sokka began to worry. He pulled Appa into Zuko's line of fire, unknowingly bringing another reason for the prince to win into the battle: his sister. Sokka needn't have worried, though, Aang and Hay Lin were holding off Zuko well enough on their own. But Sokka encouraged Katara to join the fight, seeing as she was a Waterbender, and they were over the ocean and everything.

Zuko, his fists burning with his rage, lit another fireball. One of his crew released the catapult, and it flew through the air towards Appa. Working together quickly, Irma and Katara moved a tsunami of water towards the comet-like object, extinguishing it with a loud hiss. The prince glared at his Waterbender, but she looked away, not wanting to distract herself during the battle.

In the meantime, Cornelia finally found herself some Earth to bend. In a slow, steady stream of black, like a swarm of locusts, the ship's source of fuel steadily plopped into the ocean. When every last piece was gone, the trio and the Guardians fled, although they knew their safety wouldn't last for long. Zuko could easily turn his ship around with what he was burning at the moment and refuel at the port they had just escaped from.

And he did. It took him a whole day to catch up with the Avatar, but he made it. Nothing could stop him from restoring his honor now, the Avatar was too close. Zuko knew he'd said this before to himself, especially the time he'd almost managed to capture the bratty little kid-but this time it felt different, like he'd actually succeed for once.

As was their wont, none of them noticed Zuko until he fired upon them. Literally. The tip of Zuko's first shot singed the bison's tail slightly, and his feelings of an assured victory increased. There wasn't any cloud cover today for them to hide behind, and only an expanse of dizzyingly shiny ocean water in every direction. The prince smirked. They couldn't get out of this, not even with those extra benders and the Earthbender's pathetic boyfriend.

Oh, they fought back at first. But once they realized that Zuko was not going to give up for anything, their offensive attacks started to weaken. He could tell, even from a distance, that Katara wasn't trying at all, and maybe-and Zuko's heart fluttered in an unprincely manner for a peasant, of all things- just maybe she wanted to be back with him. Could he really go so far as to hope that? He paused to think it over, shrugged, and pushed the thought out of his mind, well aware of how it was distracting him from the battle that was taking place.

Another hit on Appa, and the flying bison was down. Aang landed him on Zuko's ship for safety, defending the wounded animal ferociously. Out of nowhere, it seemed, a contrastingly purple…window? opened in the sky. All thoughts of battle fled. Hay Lin's grandmother's head poked through, motioning the Guardians to go back to Earth, where they belonged. One by one the Guardians flew up to the portal, Taranee and Hay Lin holding Caleb and Blunk.

"Grandma, how did you get here?" Hay Lin eagerly asked her grandmother.

"It doesn't matter. You were sent here to accomplish a task-" the Guardians all took a sharp intake of breath as they realized that Katara had been right, and Hay Lin's grandmother kept going as if she hadn't been interrupted. "and you have completed it. You are of greater assistance in Meridian now."

"But we have to help them defeat Zuko!" Will cried out.

"You are needed in Meridian more," Hay Lin's grandmother said. As if he had just woken up, Zuko started attacking even more viciously. The Avatar trio was hopelessly outnumbered without the Guardians, though they tried to console themselves that they had escaped him many times before like this.

But the next time the Guardians looked down, Sokka and Aang were in chains, and Katara held firmly at the wrists by Prince Zuko.

"But we have to help them!" Will argued, despairing at the fate of their new friends. "The fate of this world depends on the Avatar!"

"I know," Hay Lin's grandmother replied. The Guardians, with sinking hearts, looked back at Zuko's ship. Aang and Sokka had already disappeared belowdeck, presumably to the brig, yet Katara was still visible, held by the Fire Nation prince. Without any regards to the Guardians hovering in the air above them (for his soldiers were already guarding the other two), Zuko leaned in and hungrily kissed Katara.

"I knew it!" Cornelia yelled. The prince didn't even notice, or if he did, he didn't care. Katara was already kissing him back.

"That," Hay Lin's grandmother nodded towards the couple, "is what I've been trying to tell you. Your assistance here has brought them together. That's why a portal into their world opened. When love blooms between the only two opposite elements, it will extinguish the war."

**A/N: Did you like the ending? Sorry it took me forever to update!**


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